This invention generally relates to a system for monitoring the activities of a person within a defined area, and more particularly to such a monitoring system which senses when a person is in distress and needs assistance and the system then notifies appropriate personnel, wherein the person in distress is not required to take any action to indicate the distress situation to the monitoring system.
The consequences of falling have a significant impact on the quality of life enjoyed by older persons. According to Dr. Michael L. Freedman, Director of Geriatrics at New York University Medical Center, one of every three persons 65 and older suffers a fall each year. As of 1996, two of every five admissions to nursing homes are the result of falls. Falls are now the sixth leading cause of death for persons over 70.
Although the consequences of falling can be significant, many older adults are reluctant to report falls for various reasons. For example, in residential care facilities, the person may fear being transferred away from friends and social life to a more managed environment. Sometimes falls go unreported because persons with cognitive dysfunction are unable to communicate coherently to family, friends or care givers. Falls may also go unreported by staff for fear of administrative issues or reprisals directed at them or the residents.
For many years and through many permutations of technology, people have wrestled with the problems and solutions involving an increasingly older elderly population. According to a 1996 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the group of persons 85 and over is projected to be the fastest growing segment of the elderly population. It is expected that by the year 1999, the number of persons 65 and older will be over 35 million. Of those, over 4 million will be 85 and older.
As direct customers (i.e., persons living in their homes), elderly persons have been intimidated by the sophistication and cost of the devices available to assist them in managing their homes and achieving and maintaining independent lifestyles. As indirect customers (i.e., persons living in residential care facilities), their level of exposure to various technologies to better assist them has been dependent on the administrators' comfort with such technologies and the financial costs. Historically, residential care facilities have tended to shy away from using such monitoring technologies. Only recently has there been some increased utilization of modern technology in various aspects of such facilities, including resident emergency recognition and response.
One of the first areas of general acceptance and usage of technology for both homes and residential care facilities is that of personal emergency response. In the past, this was an area where little or no technology was utilized. Monitoring devices that did exist were limited in coverage area to a single room of a home or a resident's living area. Newer products have expanded their coverage area to encompass an entire home or a facility's perimeter through use of transmitters worn or easily accessed by the person. These transmitters often take the form of bulky pendants, wrist watches or pull cords. Each product requires the person to have quick and ready access to the transmitter and be able to activate the transmitter to initiate the call for help, even if the person has fallen and is immobile.
These requirements have proven to be an impediment to customers. Many people feel the transmitters are a badge that declares them to be less than capable adults. Most find the instruments unattractive. As a result, transmitters arc often left in pockets or drawers and pull cords are tucked behind pictures, rendering them unreachable and of little or no assistance in times of distress.
Prior art monitoring systems can be generally grouped into two types: active and passive. To generate an alarm condition in an active monitoring system, some affirmative act by the person being monitored is required to indicate the person is in distress and needs assistance. The required act may comprise clapping, pushing a button, calling for help, or otherwise activating a transmitter.
On the other hand, passive monitoring systems may rely on the failure of the person to perform an act within a prescribed period of time or at a certain time of day; for example, the person does not use the phone or toilet for 24 hours, does not get out of bed by a certain time of day, or does not take medication at prescribed time intervals or at particular times of day. However, these systems are often complex to program, implement and utilize. As a result, they have achieved little or no commercial success. An example of such a passive system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,801.
Generally, these passive monitoring systems evaluate the activities of a person and generate an alarm if warranted. Based upon sensors, clocks and timers, these systems monitor a person's activities and trigger an alarm when the timer or clock indicates the monitored device was unused beyond its programmed time limit or was unused at a certain time of day. The system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,801 monitors a plethora of devices, as well as the bathroom. However, its reliance on the resident to initiate an emergency process through inactivity can be a drawback, especially in facilities that deal with dementia patients.
People with dementia generally are not monitored with either active or passive monitoring systems because these people cannot consistently distinguish and recognize times of appropriate usage of certain items. As a result, residential care facilities are forced to rely on staff personnel to patrol resident rooms, bathrooms and common areas. This is both expensive and intrusive.
The percentage of the population who suffer from Alzheimer's disease is growing with the increasing number of persons over 85. Alzheimer's is one form of senile dementia. The American Medical Association reports that nearly one in two people over 85 suffers from some stage of Alzheimer's. Since the disease attacks the mind rather than the body, it often lasts for a long time. On average, those afflicted with Alzheimer's live eight more years after diagnosis, often needing round-the-clock care. To date, there is no cure in sight.
The usage of monitoring systems is not limited to the elderly. Younger persons may either be chronically or occasionally in need of monitoring. For example, hospice patients, patients newly released from the hospital, individuals with disabilities living independently, persons with permanent disabilities living at home, and others can all benefit from nonintrusive, situation-based monitoring systems.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a situation-based monitoring system that monitors the activities of a person within an area or location and automatically notifies appropriate parties when an actual or potential emergency situation occurs involving the monitored person.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a situation-based monitoring system that allows a person to live independently and safely in a home or residential care setting.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a situation-based monitoring system that does not require either initiation or inactivity by persons being monitored to indicate a distress situation to appropriate personnel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a situation-based monitoring system such that anyone who falls down within a predetermined area creates a distress condition recognized by the system as one requiring an alarm.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a situation-based monitoring system that recognizes a various number of actual or potential situations involving persons requiring assistance.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a situation-based monitoring system that evaluates a location for the existence of various conditions of distress and generates an alarm, whether or not a person within that location (and responsible for creating that situation) is able to indicate the distress situation to the system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a situation-based monitoring system that monitors the activities of a person in a non-intrusive manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a situation-based monitoring system that can configure situations differently for different persons.
The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.